This application is related to, and being filed concurrently with, an application by Douglas Infiesto, entitled xe2x80x9cVehicle Entertainment System Having Built-In Test Environment Server,xe2x80x9d Ser. No. 09/336,638 the contents of which are incorporated herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle entertainment system, and more particularly, to a vehicle entertainment system in which each passenger seat is provided with a seat controller card that is programmed as a server to manage hypertext document requests locally, without accessing a server for the vehicle entertainment system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hypertext documents are computer files containing text and images with links, more commonly referred to as hyperlinks, to other hypertext documents. The coding language that is used to create hypertext documents is known as HyperText Markup Language (HTML). The protocol for moving hypertext documents across an interconnected network of computers, e.g., across the Internet or an intranet, is known as HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP). This protocol requires an HTTP client program on one end and an HTTP server program on the other end. The HTTP client program is known as a browser. It is the software that displays hypertext documents and manages inputs thereto. The two most popular types of browsers are Netscape Navigators and Internet Explorers. The communications protocol that is used in the interconnected network of computers, e.g., the Internet or intranet, is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
Each hypertext document has an address associated therewith. This address is known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Generally, a user requests hypertext documents using the browser by either typing in the URL, or by maneuvering a cursor to a position on the displayed hypertext document that corresponds to a hyperlink to the URL and actuating the mouse button. The latter method is commonly referred to simply as xe2x80x9cclicking on the hot-spotxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cclicking on the hyperlink.xe2x80x9d When the user types in the URL or clicks on the hyperlink, the browser transmits the URL corresponding to the requested hypertext document to an HTTP server computer in which the requested hypertext document resides. The server computer retrieves this document and transmits it back to the browser.
Although the URL is typically associated with a hypertext document, it may be associated with an executable program instead. If a URL that is associated with an executable program is specified by a browser, the server computer in which the executable program resides executes the program using any input data received from the browser, and the output of the program is transmitted back to the browser, typically in the form of a hypertext document.
An in-flight entertainment (IFE) system providing Internet or intranet access is proposed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/085,180, filed May 26, 1998, entitled xe2x80x9cPassenger Entertainment System, Method and Article of Manufacture Having Improved Area Distribution Equipment,xe2x80x9d the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. In this system, client computing capabilities are provided at every seat by equipping each seat with an input device (a passenger control unit and a touch screen), an output device (a display unit), and a processor programmed with a browser. The connection to the Internet is provided by a satellite uplink and downlink. The system may also function as an airborne intranet to permit the passenger to select and control product ordering services, passenger services, and entertainment and communications services without connecting to the Internet.
When providing either Internet or intranet access, the above-described system employs a system file server, which is referred to as a cabin file server (CFS) in an IFE system. In the case of Internet access, the CFS functions as a proxy server to manage the connections to other server computers over the Internet. In the case of intranet access, the CFS functions as an HTTP server computer to directly manage requests for hypertext documents and program executions.
However, the CFS also functions as the system controller for the IFE system and is programmed to perform other tasks associated with managing the IFE system. As a result, when the CFS is busy with system-related tasks, response rates to a request for hypertext documents and program executions may be unacceptably slow. Also, it is possible that several requests for hypertext documents and program executions may reach the CFS at about the same time. In such a case, the requests will have to be queued, causing further response delays. Further, if the CFS is down for maintenance or repair, the CFS will be unable to process any pending requests until the maintenance or repair has been completed.
An object of the invention is to improve the response rates to a request for hypertext documents and program executions in a vehicle entertainment system.
Another object of the invention is to decrease the processing load at a system file server of the vehicle entertainment system so that the system file server will have more processing power to perform system-related tasks and manage Internet connections and intranet server functions.
Still another object of the invention is to permit passengers of a vehicle entertainment system to select and control passenger, entertainment, and communications services using a browser interface without reliance on either an Internet or intranet connection.
The above and other objects of the invention are achieved with a vehicle entertainment system having a system file server connected to a plurality of seat controller cards (SCCs), wherein each SCC is programmed with a browser and an HTTP server program to operate as a server for managing hypertext document requests issued by the browser. When the browser requests hypertext documents that are stored in a local memory of the SCC, the server retrieves the hypertext document from the local memory and provides it to the browser without accessing the system file server for the vehicle entertainment system. As a result, the response rate to a hypertext document request is increased, and the processing load of the system file server is decreased. The decrease in the processing load of the system file server leaves it with more processing power to execute system-related tasks and to perform more effectively as a proxy and/or intranet server. Also, each SCC is considered a micro-network (micronet, for short) because it performs the functions of both the client computer (by being programmed with a browser) and the server computer (by being programmed as an HTTP server).
Each SCC is programmed as a micronet because many of the services that are requested using the browser may be handled without connecting to the Internet or accessing the intranet server. For example, when a passenger selects a movie for viewing on his or her display unit through the browser, the SCC provided at his or her passenger seat is tuned to the channel that is carrying the selected movie. The tuning of the SCC to a particular channel is a local task and need not require participation by the system file server either as an Internet proxy server or an intranet server. However, in an IFE system in which the system file server is set up as an Internet proxy server or an intranet server, the request is always transmitted to the system file server and the system file server executes the program for tuning the SCC to the particular channel. In the invention, the SCC is configured as a micrnoet having a browser and a server and the executable program for tuning the SCC resides in the local memory of the SCC, so that the channel selection request made with the micronet browser is carried out locally by the micronet server without involvement by the system file server of the vehicle entertainment system.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description of preferred embodiments which follows.